Mask
by Sakiq-Sakik
Summary: Joey Wheeler is abused and feel unloved, the reason why he wears a mask. Who will help him and be there for him? It is none other than the cold-hearted CEO of Kaiba Corp, Seto Kaiba. But is he cold-hearted? Hope you all like this story!


EDITED!!

Authoress Notes: well, here is that new story I mentioned on **Love and Mask, **this is called **Mask** and later on in the story you will see why it is called that.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for this huge stack of Shounen Jump and some manga I bought at some bookstores and Wal-Mart.

Warning- rated T for violence, mentioned of abuse, mention of rape, mention of murder, and language.

I know it wont show the cuss words, it's like that because my principle will find out and take my laptop away for me for writing those words. She found a way to find out and I don't even know how she did it, but she did. She's quite smart and she's even my coach for my basketball team. I like her. She has spunk not many people here has.

Sakiq-Toshi: I know I changed my user name, but I love the name Toshi. Joey Wheeler POV. Takes place around Halloween. Oh well, on with the story!!

**Mask**

Chapter 1

"We'll Get Through This. Together!"

By Sakiq-Toshi

Today is Halloween, and I don't even want to be here. I am at a Halloween Party over at Kaiba Mansion.

'How'd in Kami's name did I get convinced to come to this party?!' I screamed in my head as I was leaning against a wall in a big ballroom. My costume is just a two-face mask that I think fits me perfectly, since I do have two different faces.

My real face is nothing like the face my friends see me with when I am with them. My face shows that I have seen the **real** world as it is. I have seen pain, torture, murder, and even rape all from one person. And that person is none other than my father, Jonathon Wheeler.

Yes, that's right. All of them, but murdered, has happened to me. Jonathon **DID** kill someone in front of me, someone I used to know. His name was Jake.

We were both at the age of 8 when my drunken father killed him. Jake was really nice, friendly, caring, and even loving. Yes, that's right. I used to love him. Keywords: used to.

I am now 17. Nine whole years since I last saw him alive.

My other face, the one I show to my friends and enemies, is but a happy and carefree face. Like nothing is wrong with me.

This is why I like this Halloween mask. Half shows an angelic face while the other half is a demon face.

'Oh. I remember how I got convinced to come to Moneybag's place,' I thought as I looked over at Yugi Mutou, Yami Yugi, and Mokuba Kaiba.

Yuugi and Mokuba did their evil poppy-dog faces to convince me to come here. I tried to resist, really I did. But, man, those faces are more evil than the Devil himself!

But, they convinced me to come. How they are able to do that, I don't even want to know.

"Who the h*** are you?" asked a man's voice to my left. I looked to the left to see who said that to me. What I saw made me do a double take. There to my left was a man in a two-face mask but different from mine. Half of it is a face with no emotions and the other half is a face of sadness.

"Why do you want to know?" I snapped back.

"I want to know because this is my house and you don't look like you were even invited!" was the reply.

"Kaiba?!" was the confused/shocked respond from me.

"The Mutt. What the h*** are you doing here?" was the emotionless reply from none other Seto Kaiba.

I looked at Kaiba with a glare then remembered that I was wearing a mask. "I got invited by your younger brother, Mokuba," I said to him with mock in my voice and a smirk on my face.

"I thought I told him not to bring animals in the house," Kaiba said with a mocking tone in return. He then took his Halloween mask off.

"I thought you would put something like a dog mask on," he told me with a confused and searching look in his ice-cold blue eyes.

"I'm curious about something. Why do you always assume I'm a dog when I'm just as human as you are?" I asked him as I removed my Halloween mask.

'Huh. I thought he wouldn't be into Halloween and much less put on a Halloween mask,' I wondered as he stared at me with more confusion in his eyes.

He stared at me for about a minute before he answered that left me speechless.

"I don't really know. I just do things subconsciously all the time. That was how I was raised while Mokuba lived a good, normal childhood when mine got taken away at the age of 8," was what Kaiba said to me with an emotionless face but sad eyes.

'He… he had lost everything like me at the same age,' was my thought as I stared at him with a shocked face.

"You… you lost everything like me at the same age as me," I whispered quietly to myself without realizing I did it.

"What are you talking about?" asked an emotionless CEO of Kaiba Corp.

"Huh?" I looked at him blankly. "Oh. Nothing."

Kaiba looked at me with his cold and emotionless blue eyes. It went on for about a minute or two until I started to feel uneasy under his stare.

"What are you staring at?" I asked him as I took a step back from him to try and get away from his stare.

"… What did you mean by, 'I lost everything like you,' Wheeler?" asked Kaiba looking straight in my eyes looking for the answer from me.

"It's nothing important, Kaiba. Nothing important you need to know about," I murmured to him looking emotionless at him as I answered his question.

By the looks of it, I shocked the CEO. 'Wow. There's a first,' I thought as he stared at me with a shocked expression on his face other than his usual frown.

"Wheeler, are you implying that you got abused?" asked a shocked Kaiba.

I looked at him, "Why do you care?" I snapped at Kaiba with a glare that matched his own.

"Your just like me aren't you?" asked the shocked older man in front of me.

I had a shocked face for a second before I stared emotionlessly at Kaiba then exclaimed, "What about it?!"

After I said that, something happened that made me get shocked to death at what the CEO did.

… He hugged me.

'WHA-WHAT IS HE DOING?! WHY IS HE HUGGING ME?!' were some of the questions running through my head as I stared wide eyed ahead of me while Kaiba was hugging me around my waist with my arms stuck at my side.

"Wh-what are y-you do-doing K-Kaiba?" I stuttered as I asked my question to Kaiba as he put his face into my neck where the shoulder meets my neck.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Joey." He murmured into my neck. "If I knew what was happening to you, I would have stopped," he whispered as he removed his face from my neck to look me in the eye with sadness on his face and in his ice-blue eyes.

When Seto Kaiba, the guy I had a crush on for quite a while, said that it shocked me even more. Yes, that's right. I fell in love again and with this guy I thought had hated me since he saw me the first time. Kaiba put his face into my neck again.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" I asked Seto with sorrow in my eyes as I looked down at his head.

He pulled back again, but kept his arms around my waist. "What I mean is that we are the same. We both had terrible childhoods. Mine was taken away by Gozaburo, while yours was taken away by someone," he told me as he stared into my yellow-golden eyes with sadness in his ice-blue eyes.

'Just like his Halloween mask,' I thought as I too stared at him with equal sadness.

He then asked me a question I never want to answer or let anyone know about. "Who took away your childhood Joey? Please tell me so I may help you," said Seto to me as he looked seriously at me.

"Will you? Will you truly help me Seto?" I asked him as I stared at him sorrowfully.

Seto looked at me with a small smile on his face the even reached his beautiful ice-blue eyes that only he can have. "Of course I will Joey. I'll help you with whatever you need help with the most," he murmured to me.

I stared at him with sadness on my face and in my yellow-golden eyes. "Why? Why do you want to help me?" I whispered to Seto with tears falling down my face.

Seto's smile grew a little bit. "I want to help you because ever since I got to know you more over the months of arguing with you, I realized I started to fall in love with you," he whispered back to me.

I stared at him shocked. "Y-you love m-me?"

His answer was a passionate kiss on my lips.

To say I was shocked at that was the wrong thing. I'm HAPPY. I'm happy that he did that. I kissed him back with equal amount of passion. I felt something wet and hot move across my bottom lip. Instinctively, I opened my mouth to Seto for him to explore my mouth.

With his tongue, Seto both explored and massaged my mouth, teeth, gums, and tongue with his. I moaned at that.

But we were both still human, so we had to break the kiss reluctantly to breath. A thin line of saliva kept our lips connected.

I know there is a blush on my face because I can feel the heat. My yellow-golden eyes were glazed over.

Seto had a small but noticeable blush on his face while he stared lovingly at me. When he kept staring, my blush grew.

"I love you Joey Wheeler. I will now and forever love you with all my heart," murmured Seto into my ear as he moved closer to me by tightening his hold around me waist as my hands were on his shoulders.

His warm breath on my ear and my cheek sent shivers up and down my spine.

"I love you too, Seto Kaiba," I whispered to him with a true smile on my face.

We looked at each other in the eyes, slowly moving closer to each other until….

"Aniki? Joey? What are you doing?" asked an amused younger brother of Seto's, Mokuba Kaiba. He had a hint of mischief in his eyes while he looked at our close forms.

We were both still in each other's arms. Mine still around Seto's neck and Seto's still around my waist. We both had noticeable blushes on our faces when we noticed Mokuba has joined us with the gang. All of them had the same face as Mokuba. But, Yugi had a big smile on his face while looking at Seto and me.

"Mokuba? Guys?" I asked them as I stared at them in shock that they found Seto and me like this.

"Yes, Joey?" answered Yami who was staring pointedly at our still embraced forms.

Seto's and my blushes got darker as we noticed and took a step away from each other.

Ryo Bakura gave Seto and me our masks that we accidentally dropped during our little activity.

"Thanks Ryo," I muttered to him. Ryo gave me a smile in return.

"No problem," was the reply from the white-haired boy. Ryo then gave Seto his mask. "Thank you," said the CEO to the quiet boy. The blush still on his face but more dulled than it was a moment ago. Ryo also said the same thing to him as he did to me.

"So… are you two together now?" asked a hyper looking Yugi that made Seto, Yami, Yami Bakura, Malik Ishtar, Yami Marik, Tristan Taylor, Tea Gardener, and I sweat drop at that.

"Um…" I looked at Seto with pleading in my golden eyes. He sighed.

"Fine," he muttered to me before he looked at his otouto and the gang. He then grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers. "Yes, we are together," he answered Yugi's question. After he said that, it made me blush darker and a little shy that he did that in front of our friends and his otoutosan.

"Finally you two got together," said the former Pharaoh, Yami, with a smirk on his face. "I was wondering when you were going to tell Joey your feelings cousin," he then mattered to Seto.

I had a confused look on my face after Yami said that. I then looked at Seto and asked, "Seto, why did Yami call you 'cousin'?"

Seto was looking at Yami with a bit of an angered look on his face. He then looked at me after glaring at Yami for about a minute. "The reason why, Puppy, is because my life 5,000 years ago. In that life, I was known as High Priest Set, cousin of Pharaoh Atem or as he wants to be known as of now, Yami," he said to me as he wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and hugged me.

"You two are cousins, huh? Didn't see that one coming," I mumbled. Then I realized what else Seto said to me. "And I'm not a dog," I growled to Seto.

Seto chuckled and smirked at me, "Yes you are. You're **my** Puppy." Then he nipped on a patch of skin behind my right ear.

"Eep!" I squeaked and jumped from the unexpected move from Seto. That made me blush when I realized at what I did and that I actually liked it! Seto chuckled at my response and even Seto's otoutosan and my friends chuckled.

I pouted. "You're so unfair, **Dragon**," I said to Seto as I mock glared at him as we both moved our heads to looked at each other in the eyes. He smiled wider when he noticed I also gave him a pet name.

"Dragon, huh? I like that as long it is only you calling me that," Seto purred to me before he kissed me.

I closed my eyes, as he was about to pull away I made the kiss deeper than it was meant to be. We heard a cough after about a minute or two of kissing each other. We looked to see whom it came from. It came from Bakura.

"What?" asked an irritated Kaiba. Seto glared at Bakura for the interruption.

"We would like it if you didn't display your affections in public," was the reply from the ex-tomb robber.

"So? You, Marik, and Yami do it too," I said to him. It was true. Yami is with Yugi, Bakura is with Ryo, and Marik is with Malik. All of the yamis in the group is with their hikaris.

"Okay, we'll give that one to you this time, Blondie," said Marik. I twitched at that. I kept telling him not to call me that, but he won't stop no matter what. 'I hate that nick name!' I thought to myself.

Seto then looked at me. "Puppy, you forgot to answer my question on who did that to you," he said to me.

"Really? Oops. Sorry, Dragon," I said to Seto as I looked at him. "The person… um…" was all I said as I started to get nervous about the subject.

"Wait," was the interruption from Yugi. "What are you talking about Seto? Who did what to Joey?" asked my very worried best friend to Seto.

"Oh, s***," I muttered under my breath. Looking both shocked and panicked at my best friend and the rest of the gang. 'I completely forgot they were still here!' I shouted in my head.

Seto looked back at me with a bit of disbelief in his ice eyes. "Let me guess, you never told anyone about this did you, Puppy?" he asked me.

I fidgeted under his and my friends gaze. "Uh, no I didn't. I didn't tell because for protection reasons, mainly for Yugi," I answered Seto's question as I moved nervously in place as I was still in Seto's arms.

"Joey, if I were you, I would answer Yugi's question before he gets REALLY worried for you," said Yami as he looked worriedly at me though not as much as Yugi was looking.

I looked nervously at both Seto and Yugi. I bit my lip as I thought, 'Should I really tell them?' After about a minute of thinking about the answer, I sighed as I decided to tell them the truth, no matter how ugly it is. I looked up at my friends and boyfriend. "Do you really want to know? Do you really want t know what I went through at the age of 8?" I asked them.

They all nodded their heads 'yes.' I looked at them seriously, "My childhood was not as great as you all thought." I said before I got out of Seto's grip and moved over at a nearby table to sit down in one the many chairs around it. They all followed me and sat down around me. Seto sat on my left and Yugi sat on my right.

I then started my complicated story of my life when it all went down hill.

"I once had another friend other than you guys. His name was Jake. We were both six when me first met. We became close friends over the next two years, till that day," I said as I looked sadly ahead of me not really seeing what I was looking at.

They all looked confused when I said, 'His name was.' Tristan was the person out of the group to ask the question on top of their heads. "Joey? What do you mean his name was Jake?"

I looked at him with real sad eyes. "The reason why is because he was killed on his eighth birthday," I said with an emotionless tone. They all looked at me shocked. Some of their jaws dropped. Some had wide eyes.

"On his birthday, it was about a month since my parents divorce, we were both at my house watching some TV when my father came in drunk around 9 PM. You could actually smell him across the living room. He looked at us with anger in his eyes, like he was blaming us for what happened to him and mom. He went over to us with something in hand. When he was right next to us, he drew his pocketknife that was in his grip. He then mumbled something under his breath. And all of a sudden, he attacked Jake. He put the knife right through his heart that had him killed instantly. Not before he screamed in shock. I was shocked too because I could not move as I saw my best friend die right in front of me. I loved him dearly, so dearly that I became deranged for about a month before I went back to normal, but I was different. He dumped his body somewhere far away. After about a month I was normal again, he started to rape me for no reason and torture me too. It kept happening till I was strong enough to defend myself from him," I finished my story looking real sad.

They were all shocked that had happened to me while I was only eight. But, Seto had another emotion in his eyes, and it was sadness. For what, I do not know.

I stared at while I tried to figure out what I did or what I said that was what made him sad. I asked him, "Dragon. Is there something the matter?"

After I said that, he shocked his head a little bit as if to clear it. He cleared his throat before he said, "You went through all that by yourself? Since you were little?" He looked real sad, sad that I had to endure so much as a kid.

I gave him a sad, knowing smile. "Dragon, don't blame yourself for what you weren't there for before you even knew me. So, stop it, stop blaming yourself. It was a long time ago. Even though I miss him, he's in a better place now," I said that last part with a sad tone in my voice.

They all looked at me confused at what I have said. Then, something seemed to click in the yamis heads after thinking back at what I said about Jack and what I said a few seconds ago. They looked back at me with a different expression, and that was sadness when they figured out I used to love Jake.

Yugi noticed the change, though not the reason behind it. "Something wrong you three?" asked a confused hikari.

They noticed that Yugi saw them and looked away from me to look somewhere else than Seto and me. Then Yami said, "It is not for me or anyone of us to tell you but for Joey to." Seto just stared at him for a minute before he looked questioningly at me. I gave a small fake glare at Yami but he just smiled sadly. Then everyone else too noticed the change in the yamis faces.

Yugi looked at me. "Joey? Is there something the matter with you talking about Jake or something the matter with him?" he asked a question before the other two hikaris could. (A/N: srry about that couldn't help it. Srry 2 those who r a huge fan of Yugi!! I love him also!!!) When he said that I looked a bit mad.

"Nothing was wrong with Jake. Absolutely nothing. He was my best friend and he was my first-" I stopped myself there before I said something I didn't want to admit. But the hikaris and Seto noticed. Seto became more persistent by the looks of it.

"Puppy, was there something between you and your old friend, Jake?" Seto asked me. When I answered Yugi I had moved out if Seto's grasp. I now stood next to the yamis. I looked at Seto with a bit of a scared expression and looked away.

Yami put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Joey, I think you should tell him. He has a right to know about it, Seto cares for you and he wants to help you. If he doesn't know what the problem is, he won't be able to help and he will be sad. Trust me, I know he will," Yami said to me while Seto glared at him when he said the part about being sad, but he is not denying it either. It is the truth.

I looked at Yami before I looked at Seto with sadness in my face and golden-eyes. I sighed before saying, to Yami, "I know, but I'm sacred at what he will think of both Jake and me when he finds out." I then looked down at my feet. I didn't want to see his expression when I said that.

Yami looked at me then said, "He won't be mad, a little shocked maybe, but not at you or Jake." He squeezed my shoulder for comfort and strength.

I looked at him with a sad smile on my face then looked over at Seto. He still had a confused expression but it was more confused when he heard Yami saying that. I sighed sadly before I started telling him and the rest of the gang. "You want to know something about me and Jake right?" I asked him. Seto and the gang nodded. "The reason I wanted to stop what I was saying was because I love you now Dragon, but, there was someone else I loved a long time ago," I told the gang, Mokuba, and Seto. By the looks of it, I shocked them with that part. But, Seto was the one that was most shocked. I looked at him sadly before telling them all more of this secret of mine. "That's right. I used to love Jake and he loved me back even though we were just kids. But, we felt older because the abuses started when I was 4 and when he was 6. We went through a lot that no child should go through," I explained to them. They were sad, but the saddest of them all was my Dragon. "I'm so sorry Seto," I apologized to him as I felt tears in my eyes that was about to fall any time soon.

He looked me in the eyes and walked forward to me. When he was right in front of me, he put his right hand to my face and wiped away my tears. When he was done, he just kissed me. It was just an innocent kiss that I didn't mind at all. Full of love and it was passionate. Just like him to do that I guess from the way he grew up.

"Don't worry Puppy. I don't hold you against it, not now or ever. I love you Puppy, with my whole soul," was what he said to me as he still had his lips against mine.

I looked him in his ice-blue eyes before I started to cry silent tears that were happiness I never felt in my whole life. "I love you too Dragon, with my whole soul," I said back to him with a smile on my lips.

Our friends stood there all happy, but we weren't paying attention to them. We were too distracted with our own love for each other.

From then on, my mask will be gone forever and ever. How it disappeared, it disappeared because my Dragon took it and broke it with a promise he will make me happy even if it killed him.

_**The End**_

A/N: Well, here ya go guys!!! Hope u all liked it, if u did, pleas leave a review and tell me what u thought of it.

If u havnt yet, pleas look up at my profile and c my first story called, "**A Night to Remember**," by me. It's a yaoi, couple is Sasuke and Naruto from the episode Naruto.

Also, I still do requests if u want me 2 write a story, just mail me.

Ja ne!! (Later!!)


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